LAS CRUCES – The Doña Ana County International Jetport and Spaceport America were two of the local winners in the capital outlay bill passed this year by the Legislature and approved by Gov. Susana Martinez.

The village of Hatch and the South Central Regional Transportation District were among the losers, with projects vetoed by the governor.

The jetport received $1.138 million for runway improvements and expansion. That money will be divided, with part going toward design of a new cross-wind runway, and the rest going toward reconstruction of the existing runway to allow it to handle heavier airplanes, said Bill Provance, jetport manager.

The current runway was built in three sections, Provance said. The original section can handle airplanes up to 20,000 pounds, or the weight of most corporate jets, he said. By comparison, a twin-engine airplane weighs between 5,000 and 6,000 pounds, while an old Boeing 737 weighs about 150,000 pounds, he said.

There have been two extensions added to the original runway. The one to the east can handle airplanes up to 94,000 pounds, and the one to the west can take planes up to 60,000 pounds. The goal is to be able to accommodate airplanes up to 74,000 pounds for the entire length of the runway.

The jetport received $255,000 in capital outlay money last year to develop a plan for reconstruction of the runway, and that’s been completed, Provance said. The full cost to rebuild two sections, adjust taxiways and replace lighting will be $9 million, and had originally been expected to come from the Federal Aviation Administration, Provance said.

“Last October, the FAA said they don’t have $9 million for us, they have $5 million. Then, in January, they said they have $4.3 million,” Provance said. “Most (of the capital outlay money) will go to help us get as far along with the project as we can, and hopefully we can prevail on our congressional delegation so we can do the whole project.”

Provance said he has two tenants at the jetport who have told him they plan on buying larger corporate jets. And, he said they would be able to handle more cargo traffic with the improved runways.

“We’re hoping that once we have the capacity, midsized cargo planes will start using the airport,” he said.

The jetport was one of two appropriations in Doña Ana County of more than $1 million in this year’s bill. The other was $1.1 million to acquire rights of way, plan, design and construct road and drainage improvements to Soledad Canyon Road from Dripping Springs Road to the entrance of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument.

Patrick Nolan, executive director of the Friends of OMDP, said they have had some trouble with flooding, and the funds would go to improve drainage and widen the road to improve access for bicyclists.

Spaceport America received $6 million in capital outlay funds, $5 million to perform environmental studies and plan, design, construct and equip a fuel farm, including fencing and security systems; $500,000 for a launch vehicle payload integration facility and another $500,000 for infrastructure upgrades.

Spaceport CEO Dan Hicks said the fuel farm expansion is needed to handle the increase in operations at the spaceport.

“We’re looking at the upcoming flight tempo of not only Virgin Galactic but some other customers as well,” Hicks said. “This capital outlay project was critical to give us fuel capability all along the horizontal launch area, and the vertical launch area too.”

He said the fuel farm could potentially be useful for Holoman Air Force Base and White Sands Missile Range as well.

Hicks said the money for the integration facility will allow customers sending payloads into space to have a facility to make final checks before they are launched. And, the infrastructure money is needed for things like repairs to the operations center and upgrading water pumps.

While most of the funding for local projects passed by the Legislature was approved by the governor, three projects for Hatch were vetoed: $10,000 for shelves at the Children’s Library, $25,000 for an announcer’s stand at Frank Hinojos Ballpark and $115,000 for Hatch Gateway signs.

Hatch Mayor Andy Nuñez said he wasn’t even aware that the money had been requested.

“It kind of upsets me that they put in for capital outlay projects, and nobody at the central office knows about it,” Nuñez said.

Gov. Martinez also vetoed funding for South Central Transportation District buses and lights and signage for the Mesquite Historic District in Las Cruces.

In her veto message, Martinez said legislators continue to fund “pork projects” that don’t create jobs or having a lasting impact on the economy.

“State resources should be focused on projects which are too expensive for a local entity to remedy, or are potentially disruptive to public life and public safety,” Martinez said. “Instead, as evidenced by many of the projects included in this bill, the Legislature continues to support projects that will sit idle because they are poorly funded, planned, vetted or titled."

The Legislature attached language this year to all capital outlay appropriations for the state Department of Game and Fish stating that they were “contingent on the department of Game and Fish not accepting the transfer of any property or assets of Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park from the State Parks Division of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department in fiscal year 2018 or 2019 without prior authorization from the Legislature.”

In August, 2017, plans were announced to transfer the park from the State Parks Department to the Department of Game and Fish. The change would mean that it would no longer be a state park. But, supporters said it would also mean more staff and resources, as Game and Fish has more available funding.

While it took an act of the Legislature to create the state park, the change was made without legislative approval. The Legislature sought to wrest back control by making Game and Fish funds contingent on their ability to authorize the proposed change, Martinez used her line-item veto to strike that provision.